THE SOUND OF ‘BACK TO SCHOOL’

As summer winds down to the sweet sound of back to school, students can already be heard — at band camp.

The 75 members of the Unionville High School marching band and color guard have been out on the school parking lot for the past week developing their fall performance.

“It’s going great, everyone has been prepared and I’m excited how the show will look,” said Edward Otto, in his second year as director of bands. “We wrote the entire show in house, It will be swing jazz with a contemporary design, almost a musicians playground with six stages wheeling around and a 50-yard, 10-foot-high curtain.”

Otto was putting the musicians through their paces as they developed the correct steps and tempo, all while playing the right notes for the seven and a half minute show.

Time and again the students took their designated spots, then marched through a brief segment until they had the motions perfect.

Routines required the performers to march in a line, turn and go backward… and to watch out for the wayward photographer.

“What I like (about marching band) is getting a bunch of people committed to doing one thing” said Drum ma

jor and rising junior Jenna Ahart who shares that job with Hanley Yin.

As the band practiced a number of visitors stopped to watch their performance, one of them was Mort Block. Block is a member of Seniors Applying Generational Experience (SAGE) at Unionville. A tax relief program for retired homeowners in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District that allows senior citizens to mentor and assist students, faculty and other staff in exchange for up to $650 in tax relief.

“This is the ‘creme de la creme’ of musicians,” said Block, who is a trumpet player for the Traditions Band. “I’m excited to meet the new players and we’re lucky To have Mr. Otto.”

For musicians new to the marching band it can be challenge to learn all the steps and routines.

“It’s rough but a lot of fun,” said color guard member Catherine Glavin as she went through the performance which required her to swing her flag in unison with the rest of the color guard, then roll the pole over her shoulders into the other hand.

Gavin is an eighth-grader at Patton Middle School. At Unionville, middle school students can play in the marching band if they have the interest.

“It’s good that by the time the reach high school they have a good sense of how things work,” said Ahart.

For drummers in the percussion section there is the added challenge of carrying 30 to 50 pounds of equipment.

“Let the weight of the drums go through your body into the ground,” said drum coordinator Sean Clendening as a a newer student struggled to perform. “What makes this activity hard is you have to do everything at once.”

“Breathe, is everyone breathing?” Clendening asked. “No one has passed out yet.”

With that he gave the members a water break.

PETE BANNAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Unionville High School rising junior Abby Jenning plays the baritone. Unionville uses baritone in place of trombones. They can play the same part without the long extension.

PETE BANNAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP The Unionville percussion section plays at band camp.

Catherine Glavin works on her flag performance. “It’s rough but a lot of fun,” said Gavin, an eighth-grader at Patton Middle School; at Unionville middle school students can play in the marching band if they have the interest.

Unionville High School students take part in band camp in the school parking lot.

PHOTOS BY PETE BANNAN - MEDIANEWS GROUP Crystal Li is in the Aloha spirit as she performs with her piccolo.

Unionville High School marching band practice their fall performance in the school parking lot.

Unionville Director of marching bands Edward Otto is an alumnus of the West Chester University Golden Rams marching band.